Free Cure by Robin Cook

He’d been told that the hit on Satoshi had gone flawlessly and was certain to be interpreted as the natural death of an unidentified individual. The only problem, he’d been informed, was that the lab books had not been located.

    Hisayuki breathed out with relief, thinking how close he’d come to disaster if he’d started the meeting with such a revelation. It surely would have had the opposite result of what he’d intended, as he never thought for a moment that Hiroshi was involved personally.

    Suddenly Hiroshi stopped his soliloquy in mid-sentence. He’d seen Hisayuki’s sigh and took it as a reminder of his responsibilities as a host. “I’m sorry for carrying on so,” he said, rising to his feet and bowing slightly. “You must be hungry. I see that you have all finished your whiskey. It is time for our dinner and entertainment.” He gestured toward the table and the chef in his blindingly white outfit. “Please, let us have some food and more alcohol to celebrate our friendship.”

    Hisayuki got to his feet with even more relief. He knew that once the sake, beer, and wine appeared and the dinner started, and whatever else Hiroshi had planned, there would be no more talk of business.

    More than an hour later, as soon as it seemed socially appropriate, Hisayuki and Tadamasa excused themselves from what had become quite a party, citing that 40

    they were facing an hour-and-a-half drive back to Kyoto. Hiroshi had tried to talk them into staying the night at the hotel, but they had graciously declined, claiming that they needed to be in Kyoto for early-morning meetings.

    Despite some concern, the departure was as smooth as the arrival, with no untoward incidents, and soon the three-car cavalcade was on the road north to Kyoto. Hisayuki had not said a word for a number of miles, going over everything Hiroshi has said. Tadamasa, knowing his place, remained equally silent.

    “Well?” Hisayuki questioned suddenly. “What was your feeling about the meeting?”

    “It went smoothly but does not bode well for the future.”

    “My feelings exactly,” Hisayuki said, holding on to the strap above the rear window. He was gazing out at the dark countryside as it flashed by. All he could see were dim lights in the windows of farmers’ cottages; all he could hear was the muffled hum of his powerful sedan’s engine. “Did you get the sense that the Yamaguchi-gumi is invested in iPS USA?” He asked the question casually so as not to influence his adviser’s opinion.

    “Most definitely! I was trying to think of a way to let you know, but then I was quite certain you already did. I think they are significantly involved by the way Fukazawa-san carried on about the placement agent his saiko-komon has found.”

    “Tomorrow, have some of our analysts at the RRTW office try to learn what they can about the Yamaguchi-gumi involvement with iPS USA.”

    “The problem is that the market value of iPS USA and iPS Patent Japan are inversely tied together.”

    “Don’t I know,” Hisayuki murmured regretfully.

    “There is going to be trouble over this.”

    “I know that as well. We need time to prepare for the worst. The key thing in the short run is to keep Hiroshi in the dark as long as we can while we bolster the legitimacy iPS Patent Japan’s patents of iPS cells. Getting rid of Satoshi is good, but we need to get the missing lab books and destroy them.”

    “The question is, of course, where are the lab books? As Satoshi didn’t have them on his person or at home, they must be in physical possession of iPS USA.”

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    “Call Hideki and tell him he needs to get ahold of Satoshi’s lab books if at all possible, but warn him that the Aizukotetsu-kai cannot appear to be involved.”

    Tadamasa got out his cell phone and started to dial Hideki Shimoda.

    Hisayuki looked back out at the darkened landscape and wondered if there was anything else he should communicate to his New York saiko-komon while